Anthopoulos not tipping hand on Gibbons' status

BALTIMORE -- Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is notorious for keeping internal matters close to the vest. And even when it comes to manager John Gibbons, he's not tipping his hand.

There has been plenty of uncertainty regarding Gibbons' job security after two disappointing seasons in Toronto. The Blue Jays were unable to live up to the hype in 2013, and while they have yet to be eliminated this season, the chances for a postseason berth are not looking good.

BALTIMORE -- Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is notorious for keeping internal matters close to the vest. And even when it comes to manager John Gibbons, he's not tipping his hand.

There has been plenty of uncertainty regarding Gibbons' job security after two disappointing seasons in Toronto. The Blue Jays were unable to live up to the hype in 2013, and while they have yet to be eliminated this season, the chances for a postseason berth are not looking good.

Anthopoulos sat down with a group of reporters prior to Tuesday night's game vs. the Orioles, and one of the topics that came up was the status of his manager. Most front-office executives normally would have come out with a vote of confidence regardless of their future intentions, but Anthopoulos chose a different path.

"He's under contract," Anthopoulos said when asked if he was going to take care of the situation. "He's always under contract, pretty much. I don't think there's anything to take care of and I think he has done a good job."

The "always under contract" is in reference to the unique structure of Gibbons' agreement with Toronto. If he remains with the organization past Dec. 31, an additional year gets tacked onto his contract. For example, he's already under contract for 2015, and if he's still employed on Jan. 1, 2015, then another season automatically gets added to the deal.

The purpose of that structure was to make sure that Gibbons never entered "lame-duck" status in his job. The intentions were good, but at some point the Blue Jays will have to make a decision about his future.

While Anthopoulos' initial comments weren't necessarily definitive, they prompted a question about whether Gibbons will be back.

"He's under contract," Anthopoulos reiterated. "I've said this before, I'm a big believer that no matter what position -- grounds crew, administrative assistant, manager, coach -- you support them until you don't support them.

"Until they're no longer in this position, you support them. That position is going to be that way -- whether you're 100 games over .500 or we're struggling. We always support our staff."